Controlled environment or environmental rooms find important use in powder application processees. Thus, isolation of a process from a plant environment can make the difference between success and failure. Contaminants in the plant environment can be deposited on the work being coated. A powder application room provides optimal conditions for powder coating. (See article by Nick Liberto, "Designing a powder-application room: Why? How?", in POWDER COATING, August, 1993) It is important to control temperature and humidity, with humidity being important to the control of the electrostatic charge. (See article by Jane M. Bailey, "Powder Comes Full Cycle at Trek," in INDUSTRIAL PAINT & POWDER, September, 1996).
A controlled environment room may be constructed or erected within an industrial plant as a stand-alone room, in the room space of which temperature, humidity, and particle contaminants are closely controlled. The size of the room may vary widely, to accommodate one or more powder coating booths, and, as desired, to accommodate pretreatment and curing operations. Access may be provided for forklift trucks and parts conveyors. Return or recycled air and makeup air are filtered, to remove particles as small as two microns. The air is conditioned to provide typically a room environment of 40-70 percent humidity and 60.degree.-80.degree. F. room temperature for the sensitive powder coating operations.
Current systems result in variations in the velocity and the distribution of the air supplied to the room space for maintaining the desired room environment, and also involve design, material, equipment, and installation complexities and costs, which it is desired to reduce.